PepsiCo Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 48,807 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 62% compared to the typical volume of 30,131 call options.

PepsiCo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s zero-sugar beverage expansion is viewed as a potential growth driver, with innovation, pricing and broad distribution aimed at capturing changing consumer preferences. Can Zero Sugar Drinks Fuel PepsiCo’s Next Growth Phase?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and income-focused investors continue to highlight PepsiCo’s depressed valuation, dividend yield and defensive consumer-staples business as reasons the stock could offer significant long-term upside. The company’s latest quarter also modestly exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, while full-year EPS guidance was maintained. Prediction: This Out-of-Favor Dividend Stock Could Have Significant Upside
• Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed investment in Saudi Arabia, including localization, talent development and partnerships. While strategically supportive, the announcement is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. PepsiCo reaffirms Saudi investment commitment
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer staples have outperformed discretionary stocks in 2026, providing a favorable sector backdrop, although PepsiCo’s own shares have not yet benefited to the same extent. Staples ETF Widens Gap Over Discretionary
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo is ending manufacturing at a longtime D.C.-area facility, while reports also cite manufacturing layoffs. The moves may improve efficiency eventually but raise concerns about restructuring costs, operational disruption and softer demand. PepsiCo to End Manufacturing at Longtime D.C. Area Plant
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo is reportedly discontinuing South Africa’s ProNutro brand after 64 years, reinforcing concerns about portfolio rationalization and regional execution. PepsiCo pulls the plug on ProNutro
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges misleading “avocado oil” labeling on Siete and Tostitos chips, creating potential legal costs and reputational risk. Avocado oil chips class-action lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Technical analysis indicates PEP has broken below a key support level, with a potential downside target near $127.70, adding to short-term selling pressure. PEP technical price outlook

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $150.00 price target on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $161.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $159.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler set a $176.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.80.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total transaction of $404,666.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 74,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,441,080.50. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the second quarter worth approximately $932,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,143,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,218,000 after purchasing an additional 77,051 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp increased its position in PepsiCo by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 104,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,030,000 after buying an additional 54,405 shares during the period. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth approximately $10,782,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 94,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,584,000 after acquiring an additional 44,824 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock traded down $1.72 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.47. The company had a trading volume of 4,663,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,928,592. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.75. PepsiCo has a 52 week low of $127.98 and a 52 week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 54.63%. The company had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.59%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) is a global food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. Its portfolio includes carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, bottled water, juices, ready-to-drink beverages, snack foods and convenient foods. Major brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker and SodaStream.

The company sells products through a broad range of channels, including grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, food-service providers, vending operations and e-commerce platforms.